The importance of Glisson's capsule and its sheaths in the intrahepatic approach to resection of the liver.

Glisson's capsule extends into the liver as sheaths around the hepatic ducts, hepatic arteries and portal tributaries. Within the hepatic substance, these structures need not be dissected individually, but the sheath can be ligated "en masse." These sheaths can be approached either anteriorly (after division of the main fissure or right fissure or umbilical fissure) or posteriorly from behind the porta hepatis. We recently used these approaches in 70 patients during a 27 month period. The median blood loss was zero units and there was one postoperative death. We believe the technique adds precision and safety to surgical treatment of the liver.     

Carcinoma of the proximal bile ducts.

The records of 31 patients with carcinoma of the proximal bile ducts were reviewed and the operative procedures, results, causes of deaths and autopsy findings were analyzed and correlated. Ten poor risk patients were treated by external drainage and died of jaundice or abscesses of the liver within six months. However, one patient survived 13 months after effective bilateral drainage. Twelve patients underwent intubation through the tumor into the hepatic ducts with or without postoperative irradiation. Four patients with irradiation survived 42, 15, 15 and ten months, while eight patients without irradiation died within six months. Autopsy findings of two patients who survived 15 months revealed metastases to the various organs. Four patients underwent resection. A patient who underwent resection of the common hepatic duct and hepaticoduodenostomy died of ascending cholangitis nine months postoperatively, while a patient treated by resection of the common hepatic duct with hepaticojejunostomy died of a recurrence 25 months postoperatively. Two patients underwent left hepatic lobectomy and resection of the right hepatic duct followed by hepatojejunostomy. One patient survived 25 months and died of a reccurrence, while the other patient died of abscesses of the liver ten months postoperatively.     

Extended cytoreduction of tumor at the porta hepatis by an interdisciplinary team approach in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Objective

The objective of this study was to describe the development and experience in resection of tumor at the porta hepatis in patients with ovarian cancer by an interdisciplinary team approach.

Methods

From August 2007 to June 2009, 11 women (2 primary and 9 recurrent ovarian cancers) underwent extended cytoreductive surgery including resection of tumor at the porta hepatis by hepatobiliary surgeons.

Results

Tumor resection at the porta hepatis was required in 7.1% of the patients (11/155) during the study period. The median tumor size of the porta hepatis was 2.0 cm (range, 0.7-4 cm). All visible tumors at the porta hepatis were completely resected with co-operation of hepatobiliary surgeons. Optimal cytoreduction was achieved in all patients. There was no significant morbidity related to tumor resection of the porta hepatis and mortality associated with surgery. Five of 11 patients had recurrent disease at median 8 months (range, 1-13) after the surgery with a median follow-up of 8 months (range, 3-21 months).

Conclusion

Tumor resection at the porta hepatis is feasible with acceptable morbidities in patients with ovarian cancer by an interdisciplinary team approach with hepatobiliary surgeons. Long term follow up is needed to know the impact on survival.     

A segmental approach to computerized tomographic portography for hepatic resection

Surgical treatment has proved to be of benefit to patients with primary and metastatic tumors of the liver. However, the ability to localize tumors preoperatively to particular segments within the liver has not been emphasized. The large size of this organ and its complex vascular structure have not allowed the surgeon either to determine accurately the hepatic segment occupied by the tumor or to identify major vascular structures adjacent to the tumor. We have expanded the use of a new roentgenologic technique to determine preoperatively with more clear definition the segmental anatomy of the liver. Computerized tomographic portography (CT-P) images hepatic veins and the segmental branches of portal vein and identifies the anatomic location of tumor nodules. To read the roentgenograms, one first identifies the middle CT-P slice that will cut the transverse scissura. Slices cephalad to the transverse scissura are through segments 7, 8, 4a and 2 in a clockwise order; slices caudad to the transverse scissura are through 6, 5, 4b and 3. Selected CT-P cuts from a series of patients show the typical CT-P configuration of the hepatic vasculature anatomy and the structures that can be identified roentgenologically. The CT-P provides valuable information not previously available preoperatively to the surgeon operating upon the liver.     

Celiac lymph node resection and porta hepatis disease resection in advanced or recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer

Introduction

Prognostic value of complete macroscopic resection of primary disease has been reported and confirmed in several publications. Published data indicate that extensive upper abdominal disease involving the hepatic pedicle and celiac trunk is associated with an abortion of the surgical procedure or with suboptimal residual disease.

Methods

All patients who had disease at the porta hepatis or celiac lymph node resection as part of cytoreductive surgery were included. Medical and operative records with particular emphasis on extent and distribution of disease spread, number of peritonectomy procedures, visceral resections, and lymphadenectomy procedures were examined.

Results

A total of 28 patients who underwent some kind of celiac lymph node resection or resection of metastatic involvement of the porta hepatis were included. Median preoperative serum Ca-125 level was 78 U/ml (range, 30-2950 U/ml), and median ascites volume was 1900 ml (range, 0-10,000 ml). Of the 28 patients, 23 underwent supra-radical surgery for diffuse peritoneal carcinomatosis. Median operative time was 252 minutes (range, 100-540 minutes). Complete cytoreduction to CCO was achieved in all except one case, who was cytoreduced to millimetric residue. Fifteen patients had positive celiac nodes and nineteen patients had peritoneal disease in the porta hepatis region.

Discussion

Resection of enlarged nodes and metastatic disease to the porta hepatis is feasible with an acceptable morbidity. The decision to undergo an aggressive cytoreductive surgery is based on appropriate patient selection depending on the extension of surgical procedure, on medical comorbidities, and on the potential to tolerate an extensive procedure, rather than on specific anatomic locations.     

Prenatally diagnosed portocaval shunt and postnatal outcome: a case report

Congenital absence of the portal vein (CAPV) is a rare anomaly in the form of a portocaval shunt, whereby the intestinal and splenic venous drainage bypasses the liver and drains directly into the systemic circulation. We report a case of CAPV diagnosed prenatally after the recognition of a dilated umbilical vein draining directly into a large inferior vena cava (IVC). The IVC then drained into the right atrium of a dilated, hyperdynamic heart. The ductus venosus could not be identified. Repeated postnatal scans showed a gradual disappearance of venous lakes in the region of the porta hepatis and a clear drainage of the splenic vein to the left renal vein and the superior mesenteric vein to the IVC. From birth up to twelve months follow-up there was no evidence of liver dysfunction, encephalopathy or liver lesions.     

A study on hepatic portoenterostomy for the treatment of atresia of the biliary tract

The results of our investigation have shown the crucial points of hepatic portoenterostomy used by us which is different from Kasai's portoenterostomy. First, the dissection of the rudimentary extrahepatic bile duct should be performed under magnification. Second, the transection of the rudimentary extrahepatic bile duct should be done using the microsurgical technique. Third, histologic verification of patency of the rudimentary extrahepatic bile ducts with frozen section during the operation should be carried out and the transection should be repeated under microsurgical control until the patency of the intrahepatic bile ducts at the porta hepatis area is confirmed. Fourth, the opening of the jejunal loop should be anastomosed quite close to the cut edge of the rudimentary extrahepatic bile duct at the porta hepatis by removing the mucosa of the posterior aspect of the jejunal opening. Fifth, the Suruga II procedure has been extremely successful in decreasing the incidence of postoperative ascending cholangitis and in preventing death in those infants who have postoperative ascending cholangitis develop. Sixth, if bile flow ceases postoperatively in spite of the forementioned technical refinements, then the curettage procedure should be carried out to the anastomotic site at the porta hepatis in order to resume bile flow.     

Surgical treatment for carcinoma at the confluence of the major hepatic ducts

During the period of November 1976 through October 1984, we have treated 46 patients with carcinoma at the confluence of the major hepatic ducts. Curative resection of the tumor (where no carcinoma cells at the margin of the resected portion were found macroscopically and microscopially), was performed upon ten patients, palliative resections were done in 11, palliative resection and intraoperative radiotherapy (IOR) in ten, bile duct drainage and IOR in three, and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiodrainage in 12. Among the ten patients who underwent curative operation, five are living six to 104 months after operation while the remaining five died four to 72 months postoperatively. Of the 11 patients who underwent palliative resection, five are alive two to 22 months after operation and six died between four and 20 months after operation. For the ten patients with carcinoma in the advanced stages, palliative resection with IOR was performed. Eight patients died 20 days to 16 months after operation while two patients are alive 13 and 14 months after the procedure. Of the three patients who underwent drainage of the bile duct and IOR, two died three months after operation and one patient survived 34 months. Twelve patients underwent drainage of the bile duct only and all died after 13 months. To perform a curative operation for carcinoma located at the confluence of major hepatic ducts, it is necessary to resect the right or left lobe, including the caudate lobe, in many instances. For the patients with carcinoma in the advanced stages, the possibility of long term survival period after operation exists through the use of the combined techniques of IOR and palliative resection of the tumor.     

Management of portal venous thrombosis in hepatic transplant recipients

Portal venous thrombosis in hepatic transplant candidates is considered a relative contraindication to transplantation. In addition to thrombectomy, which is often technically impossible, donor portal venous arterialization or extra-anatomic venous bypass have been described. Two patients who underwent portal venous resection and subsequent anatomic reconstruction are presented herein. In the first patient, a graft with donor common iliac vein was interposed, and in the second, the donor portal vein was long enough to be anastomosed to the mesentericosplenic venous confluens. One patient is well 12 months after transplantation with patent portal vein and the other died of fungal sepsis after rejection treatment (the portal vein being open and unobstructed at autopsy).     

Perinatal tuberculosis in a three-month-old infant.

Perinatal tuberculosis is a rare disease with a high mortality rate and is difficult to diagnose. We report a case of perinatal tuberculosis diagnosed by postmortem study at the age of 3 months. An 83-day-old male infant presented with cough for 3 weeks and intermittent fever for 1 week. A focal tonic convulsion occurred on the day of admission. Physical examination revealed failure to thrive, tachypnea, and marked hepatosplenomegaly. Chest roentgenogram showed bilateral nodular alveolar-interstitial infiltrates. Abdominal computed tomography showed multiple nodules in the liver and spleen as well as lymphadenopathy in the hepatic portal hilum. Antituberculous therapies were prescribed on the second hospital day. The patient died from respiratory failure on the sixth hospital day. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured from gastric aspirates and cerebrospinal fluid 4 weeks after inoculation. Postmortem examination revealed disseminated necrotizing granulomas in several organs and tissues, including the porta hepatis lymph nodes, a primary hepatic complex. M. tuberculosis infection was diagnosed in his mother based on positive findings of Mautoux test and chest roentgenogram. This case illustrates that tuberculosis, though rare, still should be considered in poor-weight-gain neonates with cough, fever, and/or hepatosplenomegaly. Careful maternal and other family contact history is essential to establishing the diagnosis.     

Surgical treatment of hilar carcinoma of the bile duct

The operative results of hilar carcinoma of the bile duct are extremely poor and there are few long term survivors. During the past seven years and six months at our clinic, 26 of 32 patients with hilar carcinoma were operated upon and 24 of these patients underwent resection with a resectability rate of 92.3 per cent. There was one operative death and the mortality was 3.8 per cent in 26 patients operated upon and 4.2 per cent in 24 patients who underwent resection. Seven are still alive postoperatively. The longest survival time is five years and seven months without a recurrence after right trisegmentectomy for carcinoma of the intrahepatic bile duct with hilar invasion. Curative resection was performed upon ten of 26 patients who underwent operation. Of the patients who were operated upon, 12 had invasion of the parenchyma of the liver at the hilum and 11, invasion of the caudate lobe, including direct invasion in three and invasion of the bile ducts in eight. Therefore, the caudate lobe should be resected for radical operation for hilar carcinoma. In this study, the anatomy of the hilar area, including vascular structures of the caudate lobe, was evaluated in 106 cadavers, concerning radical operation for hilar carcinoma.     

Conservative surgical management of isthmic ectopic pregnancies

During the 12-month study interval ending March 30, 1986, there were 203 ectopic pregnancies at Grady Memorial Hospital, a ratio of one ectopic gestation per 34 deliveries. Twenty patients with isthmic ectopic pregnancies were selected for treatment by one of three operative modalities. Seven patients with ruptured isthmic ectopic pregnancies underwent segmental tubal resection without reanastomosis. All four patients who underwent segmental tubal resection with primary microsurgical reanastomosis had postoperative hysterosalpingograms demonstrating bilateral tubal patency. One pregnancy has occurred in this group. Nine patients underwent linear salpingostomy. In five of the six patients who had postoperative hysterosalpingography, patency of the involved fallopian tube was demonstrated. Four of these nine patients, including one patient with contralateral tubal occlusion, have conceived. We conclude that linear salpingostomy for isthmic ectopic pregnancies is as effective as segmental tubal resection with primary microsurgical reanastomosis in achieving tubal patency.     

Carcinoma of the colon and rectum with liver involvement

The records of 126 patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum who presented with liver involvement were reviewed. Prognosis was determined by the amount of metastases to the liver, which was usually extensive of ascites or a raised alkaline phosphatase level was present. The longest survival period was achieved with resection of the primary tumor along with hepatic lesions confined to a single lobe, especially those due to direct tumor infiltration. If liver deposits were found bilaterally, palliative resection of the primary lesion relieved intestinal symptoms. This may also prolong the survival time, because a fixed primary tumor appeared to diminish the outlook among patients with comparable liver disease. Palliative resection in the presence of ascites resulted in a high mortality, and the survival rate was no better than that after diversion procedures. We recommend resection without anastomosis for carcinoma of the rectosigmoid in patients with ascites and unresectable secondary lesions of the liver.     

The surgical treatment of choledochal cyst.

Eleven consecutive infants and children with choledochal cyst were evaluated for operative resection of the cyst as the primary surgical therapy. Total excision and biliary reconstruction by choledochojejunostomy was successfully performed in nine patients. Simple intestinal drainage of the cyst was used in two instances because of severe liver disease. Four patients had coexisting biliary malformations. In all five infants, biopsy of the liver was consistent with biliary atresia. In addition, the extrahepatic bile ducts proximal to the cyst were obliterated in two infants. The findings suggest that pathogenesis of choledochal cyst may be different in infants than in older children. The indications for excision of the cyst in four patients were due to complications from earlier internal drainage procedures. In most patients, including all those having had a cystoenterostomy earlier, resection was done from the inside of the cyst, thus minimizing the danger of injury to the neighboring vascular structures. There were no operative deaths, and morbidity was minor. The traditional operation for a choledochal cyst has been internal drainage of the cyst into the intestine. Because of the high incidence of late complications and the frequent association of major co-existing biliary malformations, the procedure should be reserved for highly specific indications. Total surgical excision is the procedure of choice for a choledochal cyst.     

Hepatic trisegmentectomy and other liver resections.

Trisegmentectomy, extended right hepatic lobectomy, is the removal of the true right lobe of the liver in continuity with most or all of the medial segment of the left lobe. Some important features of the operation have not been well described previously. To perform trisegmentectomy safely, a fusion of liver tissue covering the umbilical fissure at the level of the falciform ligament must first be split open in many patients. The left branches of the portal triad structures are mobilized from the undersurface of the liver nearly to but not into the umbilical fissure. The blood supply and duct drainage of the medial segment originate within the umbilical fissure and feed back toward the right side buried in liver substance. They are found with blunt dissection just to the right of the falciform ligament, encircled and ligated. Failure to appreciate this switch back anatomic arrangement may lead to injury of the blood supply or biliary drainage of the residual lateral segment. Parenthetically, the mirror image operation of lateral segmentectomy could result in devascularization of the medial segment if dissection and ligation were performed within the umbilical fissure instead of well to the left of this landmark. In most trisegmentectomies, the left portion of the caudate lobe is not removed. This small piece of tissue is interposed between the lateral segment and the inferior vena cave into which it drains by small tributaries. If the left portion of the caudate lobe is to be excised, it is necessary to ligate the last two posteriorly running branches before the main left trunks of the portal triad structures reach the umbilical fissure. Once this step is taken and if the caudate removal is completed, the remaining lateral segment usually has only one remaining outflow, that of the left hepatic vein. The other principles of trisegmentectomy are the same as with less radical subtotal hepatic resection. These include vascular suture closure of the main outflow veins, avoidance of parasegmental planes that leave behind a strip of devitalized tissue, preservation of intersegmental or interlobar veins, omission of techniques that sew shut or otherwise cover the raw surface of the remnant and provision of adequate drainage of dead space. After trisegimentectomy and also after true lobectomy, this last objective is usually met by leaving part of the operative incision open. Using these guidelines, there has been no mortality with 27 hepatic resections carried out since 1963, including 14 trisegmentectomies.     

An anatomic investigation of radical resection of tumor in the hepatic duct confluence

The fetal umbilical vein in the ligamentum teres can be reopened to provide a 10 centimeter long vein, as wide as the left portal vein or the central splenic vein, that gives access to the left portal vein in the umbilical fissure of the liver. By cutting the ligamentum teres, this potential autologous venous graft is lost and, therefore, the ligamentum teres should never be sacrificed without reason. The umbilical side of the reopened umbilical vein can be anastomosed with the splenic vein to form a portal vein bypassing conduit that enters the liver in the umbilical fissure and take over function of the portal vein. From the results of this postmortem investigation, it can be concluded that radical block resection of the area consisting of the hepatic duct confluence, classic right hepatic lobe and complete hepatoduodenal ligament, preceded by construction of a complete separate afferent blood supply of the classic left hepatic lobe, is possible both anatomically and technically. There is no indication denying the supposition that the result of such a procedure is functionally analogous to standard extended right lobectomy with bilioenteric reconstruction.     

Manifestations of carcinoma of the uncinate process by means of superior mesenteric arteriography

Identification of carcinoma arising in the uncinate region of the pancreas is difficult because of the peculiar topographic relationship of this lesion with adjacent structures. Among the various diagnostic procedures performed upon ten patients with this malignant lesion, superior mesenteric arteriography provided the most helpful information, including signs of invasion in the main trunk of the superior mesenteric artery and vein and in the proximal portion of the jejunal arteries. A clearer visualization of these vascular involvements was attained in the right posterior oblique projection rather than in the anteroposterior projection. On the contrary, the arterial and portal vessels belonging to the celiac territory, such as superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries, dorsal pancreatic artery, gastroduodenal artery, splenic vein and portal vein, were almost free of involvement. At laparotomy, almost all of the patients had direct extension of the tumor to the superior mesenteric vessels, forming a cancerous core in the root of mesentery. All died of cachexia within six months after a palliative surgical procedure. Serial roentgenograms of superior mesenteric artery, especially taken in the oblique projection, are the best means of confirming carcinoma of the uncinate process, for which only a few available methods have been established to evaluate the clinical aspects.     

Modified technique of Pringle's maneuver in resection of the liver.

Crushing of the hepatic parenchyma with hepatic clamps to minimize blood loss during resection of the liver leads to mechanical damage of hepatocytes. Pringle's maneuver may precipitate liver failure by hepatic warm ischemia as well. Therefore, we controlled bleeding from the surface of the resection by using light compression on the hepatic parenchyma with a band while applying a hepatic arterial clamp at the hepatic hilus. This vascular control method can be done because the portal pressure is about one-tenth of the hepatic artery pressure and provides an efficient and harmless transection of the liver.     

Bilateral Ovariectomy in Young Rats: What Happens in Their Livers during Cecal Ligation and Puncture Induced Sepsis?

Study ObjectivePediatric ovarian masses comprise a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant lesions. Surgical methods consist of emergency or programmed surgery with tumoral resection and uni/bilateral oophorectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy. We examined whether bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) worsens liver injury during the onset of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis in rats.DesignThe rat groups were: sham, bilateral-OVX, sepsis, and OVX-sepsis.SettingsAfter OVX operation, rats were allowed to recover for 12 weeks. At the end of recovery, CLP was applied 16 hours after sepsis induction.Main OutcomeThere was a significant difference in the numerical density of hepatocytes only between the sepsis and the OVX-sepsis groups. Serum ALT and AST were increased significantly in the OVX-sepsis group. NF-κB activation after OVX increased after induction of sepsis. OVX-sepsis group showed marked thrombosis in portal vein branches and the central vein, degeneration in the bile ducts, and widespread ischemic areas in liver sections. Intra-inflammatory cell invasion was observed in both the portal and intrasinusoidal areas.DiscussionThis study indicates that increases in liver NF-κB activity in ovariectomized rats following CLP-induced sepsis correlates with elevated levels of serum ALT and AST and with histopathologic changes in rat liver. Bilateral OVX therefore appears to play a role in the activation of NF-κB or in production of cytokines in liver cells. Thus, we provided novel insight into the effects of OVX on liver injury following CLP-induced sepsis.     

Angiographic evaluation of hepatoma for surgical treatment.

Celiac and superior mesenteric arteriography of 60 patients with primary carcinoma of the liver was evaluated retrospectively to select patients properly for hepatic lobectomy, ligation of the hepatic artery or temporary occlusion of the hepatic artery. The angiograms were studied from the viewpoints of origin of the hepatic artery, location of hepatomas, macroscopic type of hepatomas, tumor supplying arteries, patency of the portal vein and coexistence of cirrhosis of the liver. It is stressed that an exact knowledge of these items before operation is important in performing any type of surgical treatment for patients with hepatomas. Resectability of the tumor in the present series of patients was possible in 11 patients, and in the recently seen patients with nonresectable hepatomas, ligation or repeated temporary occlusion of the hepatic artery or both have been performed with postoperative infusion chemotherapy.